Kyidyin Muchian
by EzioAuditore1459
Summary: Follow the life of Jedi Master Kyidyin Muchian as he fights in the Battle of Geonosis, leads armies in the Clone War, struggles through the Great Jedi Purge, witnesses the reign of the Galactic Empire, and founds the New Jedi Order with Luke Skywalker.
1. Part 1, Chapter 1

**PART I**

**The War**

**Chapter 1 (The Crises of the Republic)**

Kyidyin Muchian was a Human Jedi Master during the waning years of The Galactic Republic and The Jedi Order and was one of the very few Jedi to survive Order 66 and the ensuing purge of the remaining Jedi. This is his story.

It begins at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, in the year that we now know as 22 BBY, just before the Battle of Geonosis and the beginning of the Clone War.

Kyidyin Muchian was walking in one of the Temple Gardens with his cousin, Jedi High Councilor, Adi Gallia. They often did this and discussed many things, Adi frequently complained to Kyidyin about the corruption in the Galactic Senate that had led to many Republic failures. She was incredibly insightful about the politics of the Republic and had few people she could talk about them to who would understand her. While Kyidyin wasn't nearly as politically savvy as Master Gallia, he understood more than most Jedi. "They all close their eyes to the fact that Chancellor Palpatine is serving his third term, with no sign of leaving his office in the next decade" She ranted "I worry what powers the Senate will grant him if this Separatist Crisis escalates, sometimes I think I should demand that Master Windu force Palpatine to end his tenure as Chancellor!"

Kyidyin smiled to himself thinking of the horrified reactions Adi would get from esteemed masters like Teuch Neuko and Saesee Tiin for losing her temper in this way. It wasn't that Adi had no regard for the Jedi practice of controlling emotions, far from, but she did get carried away sometimes. She was a strong believer in justice and law and seeing the corruption of the Senators and Bureaucrats was abhorrent to her.

"Has the Council had any leads on the Tedraan Sector Bandits?" Kyidyin asked, changing the subject.

"We haven't discovered any leadership yet, but we sent Even Piell to investigate" Adi replied.

"On his own, I know he's skilled, but remember what they did to Master Preltho and her padawan"

"The council trusts his skills, and a large force would attract unwanted attention, and Master Piell is the best Jedi for the job.

"Agreed. Have you notified the Senate yet?"

"Give that bunch of cowards something else to worry about, not if I can help it…though depending on the results of Master Piell's search I may have to."

"Has Coleman Trebor been able to calm the Senate at all?" Asked Kyidyin.

"I don't know, nothing has been working, a few councilors are disappointed as this is what we elected him for, but I don't blame him, it's an impossible situation to navigate successfully."

"I'm glad you don't have any hard feelings towards the council for electing him to do your job"

"If I had any I would have dealt with them long ago, Master Trebor has already been on the council a couple of years now, you know."

"Yes, time goes by so fast, I find it hard to believe it's been six years since I was made a Jedi Master."

"That's nothing, can you imagine that I've been on the council for nearly two decades"

"Congratulations"

"Don't be childish, it's unbecoming of a Jedi Master."

"I know, Adi, sometimes comments like that just slip out."

Kyidyin always found it amusing that, despite the fact that Adi was twenty-five years older than him, and had been a master for even longer, they had such a close relationship. Despite the fact that they were cousins, Kyidyin did not often see other Jedi relatives so close, not even Adi and her other cousin, Stass Allie.

Kyidyin and Adi separated when they entered the Temple, she had to attend a High Council session and he wanted to check up on his padawan, Cinigan Dokoora, it was a bad idea to leave Cinigan alone in the Temple for long periods of time, especially if his friend, Azarp Bark, was with him.

When Kyidyin reached Cinigan's quarters, he saw his padawan and Azarp standing near a table, grinning. Kyidyin saw a cake on the table that had the words: _Happy 42nd_ written on it.

"I'm happy to see that you two find such productive things to do with your time" Kyidyin said sarcastically.

"We were bored," Cinigan said rapidly, "We had finished our lessons and Master Koon was in a meeting with the Chancellor and you were with Adi-"

"Master Gallia to you."

"-Alright, whatever, but we didn't have anything better to do and you should be happy that I take time to celebrate your getting older"

"So, in essence you're hoping that I'll get so old that I'll retire and get the Council to knight you early, so instead I should keep you as a padawan until I retire, which will not be for another thirty or forty years, and make you remain a padawan until you're older than I am now, is that what you want."

They bantered on this way for a little longer, with Kyidyin thinking how certain masters would likely disapprove of this behavior, and he found it easier to communicate with his padawans if he spoke with them in a casual way that would be more natural to them. And while some masters would remonstrate him, Kyidyin knew that they all had differences from standard in the way they trained their students, Master Shaak Ti, for example, had taken both the padawans she had trained to her homeworld of Shili and trained them to knighthood there.

Kyidyin had been training fifteen year old Cinigan for three years and had a very different relationship with him, than with his former padawan, Sta Atato. Azarp Bark, who Cinigan had been friends with since Azarp had been inducted into the Order at the age of eight, was originally a Tusken Raider from Tatooine, which is why he had not been discovered force-sensitive as a baby, had been taken by Tusken Master, Sharad Hett to the Jedi Temple and was being trained by the Kel Dor High Councilor, Plo Koon.

After a while, Kyidyin said "Azarp, as I doubt Plo will have time to work with you today, so you can feel free to train with Cinigan and I."

This was an arrangement that Kyidyin had made with Master Koon, so that Azarp would not fall behind is his Jedi training due to Plo's busy schedule that had arisen from the Separatist Crisis.

"Is Master Plo intending to take on any missions?" Kyidyin asked Azarp.

"I doubt it," The Tusken padawan answered gloomily, "He says Master Windu wants to keep as many of the High Council here as possible to deal with any issues in the Senate, though that didn't stop him from sending Even Piell to Tedraan" He ended with a note of irritation.

"That's because Master Piell is the most capable Jedi for that job, I realize you do not enjoy being cooped up at the Temple for months on end like this, but it is necessary for Plo to remain on Coruscant."

Kyidyin soon began to realize that it wasn't just members of the Council being kept from assignments, many of the senior masters were being kept on Coruscant. It seemed that the Council believed a conflict was inevitable and was keeping its more experienced fighters at easy access. Kyidyin himself had not been sent anywhere since the Separatist Crisis had begun, and both he and Adi were beginning to become agitated with this lack of action, in one of their walks she had said this "It's clear that there isn't a diplomatic solution to this and while he puts up a good disguise to the contrary, I, personally, believe that Palpatine is itching for a war, but Master Windu keeps stating that there are not enough of us to fight a drawn out war for The Republic, and he's right, but the Chancellor is refusing to acknowledge that negotiations have failed, but at the same time he is suggesting that we create an army for The Republic, but who does he think is going to lead it and where is The Republic going to get an army like this!"

"Only the force will tell" Kyidyin said wearily.

"Yoda and Oppo keep saying that too," Said Adi, sighing with frustration, "but neither of them have foreseen anything"

"And no one else is providing helpful insight?"

"No, none of them have anything new to say… sometimes I wish Yaddle were still alive, she often had unique views and on multiple occasions was able to find solutions to difficult issues."

"Then, unless some other solution appears, we must hope that, with time, this Separatist Organization crumbles."

"I guess it's possible, as long as The Republic can hold out longer than these Separatists can."

Several weeks passed with little news from Even Piell, he did not report often to the Council, as he said there was no reason to waste his time if he had no news that could benefit them. Kyidyin had taken to waiting outside the High Council Chamber for news of Even Piell or the Separatists. It seemed more and more likely that Chancellor Palpatine would set the issue of an Army of the Republic to a Senate vote, which Adi assured Kyidyin, would lead to Palpatine getting his way. The Council did what they could to delay the vote but they knew it was bound to happen soon and there was little they could do to prevent it.

After one of their training sessions, Cinigan brought up a subject to Kyidyin that the padawan was bothered by and had mentioned several times before "Master, why do you wear a dress?"

"I'm not going to give you a different answer than I have every other time you ask this," Kyidyin said with exasperation," It is a long tunic, not a dress, many distinguished male Jedi Masters, like Saesee Tiin and Eeth Koth, wear longer tunics and many female Jedi, like Adi, wear shorter ones, it is only a matter of preference, it isn't, in any way, gender-specific."

"It's still dumb, you can't deny that."

"That's a matter of opinion, I doubt you would go up to Master Tiin and say that his choice of clothing is dumb"

"Well, Master Tiin is alot more imposing than you are."

"I'm still your master."

"Unfortunately"

"Cinigan, you would have a much harder life if you had most anybody else for a master, most older Jedi-" (Cinigan smirked at this) "–can't tolerate as much padawan insolence as I can, okay."

"You know you just called yourself an old person."

"I said older Jedi, by which, I meant knights and masters, virtually anyone but bratty padawans like yourself."

Finally, after one of their sessions, the High Council exited its chamber and had something to talk about. Kyidyin got up from a conversation with Siri Tachi, Adi's former padawan who was much closer to Kyidyin's age than Master Gallia, and went with her to see what the Council had learned. They walked over to Adi, who was discussing something with Cerean Councilor, Ki-Adi Mundi.

While it would be impossible to tell without knowing, Ki-Adi Mundi had had two major exceptions to Jedi rules allowed for him. First, due to incredibly low Cerean male birth rates, Master Mundi had been allowed to maintain a family on his homeworld, so long as he did not build attachments to them, and he had been placed on the High Council as a before he had had attained the rank of master, which was generally prohibited, and was something that irked Kyidyin, as there were already many capable masters, such as Luminara Unduli or Qui-Gon Jinn, to choose from.

"What's happened" asked Siri.

"Nothing for certain," Said Ki-Adi, "But Master Piell has found a fortress on Telmaros that he believes is associated with the Tedraan Bandits, so we can expect information shortly"

"Good" Said Kyidyin "Anything else?"

"Just the normal" Answered Adi.

The next day Kyidyin was talking with Adi and Plo in the Temple's entrance hall discussing the latest non-developments in the Separatist Crisis. "Actually Kyidyin," Adi suggested "You should attend one of the meetings with the Chancellor to hear about these issues first-hand"

"But aren't they only for the High Council"

"Not necessarily," countered Plo, "Other masters like Luminara Unduli and Kit Fisto have attended them, I do not believe you would be restricted."

Kyidyin began spending even more time around the High Council Chamber now that something was finally happening, and sure enough, when they exited the chamber after a meeting, it was obvious that something had happened, though the Councilors all appeared visibly distressed.

"What's happened?" Asked Kyidyin, though he had a guess, which was confirmed when Adi answered, "Master Piell's been killed."

**A/N: **Here is a little something about the Star Wars continuity that I am following. (Originally this information was in a little statement at the beginning of the story but I chose to delete it and put the needed info here) I'm not going to include anything from the Clone Wars TV show, I'm coming up with my own death for Shaak Ti, and while I am using the name and appearance of Rahm Kota (from _Force Unleashed_) I don't intend him to be the character from that. I also have completely changed the events after _Return of the Jedi_ which I will probably explain once I reach that point in the story.

Please continue reading and review and I will continue posting as fast as I can write.


	2. Part 1, Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 (A Major Threat)**

"What went wrong?"

"He was caught by them, you can watch the recording." Adi said.

Kyidyin nodded, he was relieved to leave the somber mood of the council anteroom and headed for the Jedi Temple Archives, where recordings of most High Council Sessions were available for Jedi Masters to view. When he reached the recordings chamber, he noticed Nautolan Master Kit Fisto was already there "Here for Master Piell's report, I have it right here."

Master Fisto started the recording and skipped to Even Piell's appearance as the Lannik Master was beginning his report "_So far I have been able to discover a great deal about the workings of these pirates. They have no direct connection to the Separatists and are only taking advantage of the Republic's weakness. They have recently been constructing bases throughout mid-rim sectors, places that are far from Coruscant but still reasonably important to the Republic and are mostly are member systems. They have been waiting out the Separatist Conflict and are hoping that it will escalate into a war that they can benefit from by obstructing our trade routes._"

"_Do they have a defined leadership?_" Questioned the image of Oppo Rancisis.

"_Yes, it would seem they are being primarily led by former High Councilor, Nioman Dokoora, do any of you know more details of what happened to Master Dokoora after he left the Order? Would this fit with his previous activities?_"

"_Among us, most knowledgeable on this subject, Master Windu is." _implied Yoda.

Windu nodded "_Many of you were on the Council when Nioman left, and thus know the circumstances of his departure, but for those who don't, I will explain. Some years before the Stark Hyperspace War, Nioman held a prominent seat here, but he began to become aggravated with the Council's lack of action, the final straw came for him when he proposed radical changes to the makeup of the council, and he was infuriated when his proposition was refused by eleven votes to one, his own. We decided that he was unfit to remain a High Councilor and we removed him from our body. Master Dokoora decided that we were corrupt and chose to leave the Jedi Order entirely and left Coruscant in secret, telling only Sora Bulq that he was going. _

"_We did not hear from him again for several years, until he raided Master Bulq's estate on Ruul, unaware that Sora was nearby. Sora immediately contacted me and we tracked Nioman to another moon of Sriluur, Riian. We dueled him there, but by use of the dark side, he was able to defeat us. If not for Master Yoda's intervention, he might have killed us there, I do not know, But once he realized Yoda had arrived he fled Riian. It was another four years until we heard from him again, this time he encountered Luminara Unduli, they dueled briefly but she could not bring herself to fight him and returned to the Temple, where Sora and I told her what we knew._

"_Up until now, only Luminara, Yoda, Sora, and myself have known these details, in fact, after Nioman left the Order, the leaders of the council at the time, Tyvokka and Yoda, chose to keep the details of Nioman's departure a secret, that is why so few Jedi are even aware that he left the Order, many believe he simply faded from prominence and is still with us._

"_Other than that, I have been unaware of Nioman's activities, however, I do know that, at least at one time, he was involved in piracy, though that consisted more of planetary raiding, rather than attacking space trade routes. It certainly is probable that he is now capable of piracy on a much greater scale."_

"_Return to Coruscant quickly, you must, Master Piell," _commanded Yoda, "_Dangerous it will be for you, if discover your presence, Nioman Dokoora does."_

"_I will leave as soon as I can_" Said Even, "_But wait… they may already have discovered my presence_"

There was a pause as Master Piell listened for noises the Council could not hear and suddenly ignited his blue lightsaber and began defecting blaster bolts. He darted in and out of the holoprojector, often replaced by mercenaries wielding pistols, viroblades, and a variety of explosives.

Then the image on the council projector expanded and now Even Piell and his adversaries, many of which had been incapacitated, were all visible. Presently, another assassin wearing a red cape and cortosis armor, who appeared to be the leader, entered the room and began assailing the diminutive Jedi Master with a flamethrower. With Piell sufficiently distracted, the man in the red cape and his subordinates sallied the Lannik Councilor with blaster fire and, caught off guard, Even Piell soon fell to the ground and was killed.

After that, another person entered the projection, it was a man wearing robes similar to those of the Jedi, and a mask, and was carrying a lightsaber, when he spoke, he addressed the Council directly "_I am Darth Nihalis, though all of you know me as Nioman Dokoora, I do sincerely regret that I have been forced to kill such a renowned master as Even Piell, but I will not tolerate the Jedi meddling in my affairs. My quarrel is not with you, though I disagree with your policies, I do retain some respect for the Order, especially those I once served with on your Council. I am simply trying to make a living in a tumultuous galaxy, if it must be at the expense of the Republic, so be it, I hold no loyalty to any but myself, and perhaps a little to Major Bludd here, who so expertly terminated an incredibly proficient swordsman. _

"_Also, though you may be too blinded with loyalty to realize it, the Galactic Republic is falling apart and the Jedi would do far better to separate their fate from the Republic's and go their own way, than to collapse with it. But remember, I have no quarrel with the Jedi Order unless you create one yourselves."_

With that, the transmission of Darth Nihalis ended and Master Windu, who, like the rest of the Council, was disturbed by what he had just witnessed, addressed the other members of the High Council "_For now I believe we should adjourn and meditate on what has just occurred, tomorrow we will decide upon a course of action and elect a replacement for Master Piell, you are dismissed."_

The Council members got up and the recording ended. "Did you know Master Dokoora?" Kyidyin asked Kit Fisto.

"I only spoke with him once" explained the Nautolan, "even then he distrusted the Senate but I had no idea that he had such a problem with the workings of the council. I was still a knight when he left, but I remember being baffled by it and disappointed that the Council did nothing to explain the situation… now I can see why they didn't"

"I had only known of his reputation" said Kyidyin, as another thought occurred to him he said "These cronies of his must be deadly if they could defeat Master Piell so efficiently."

"Indeed," agreed Kit, "the Council must be wary of them."

Kyidyin noticed that the recordings chamber had filled up with a great deal of Jedi Masters viewing the Council session he had just seen, it seemed the news of Master Piell's death had spread very quickly throughout the temple. As he left the room, Kyidyin heard the Ongree Master, Coleman Kcaj, who was guarding the chamber to insure that no one but masters entered, complaining to Councilor Eeth Koth, "I've never seen so many knights attempting to enter the recordings chamber, I haven't seen the Council Session myself yet, but I have been able to overhear most of what occurred, but is it really true that Nioman Dokoora killed Even Piell?"

"I'm afraid so," replied Eeth "indirectly at least, one of his minions did it for him, a man called Major Bludd, a trained professional from what I've heard."

"And it's true that Master Dokoora turned to the dark side?"

"Yes, a fact that Mace and Sora were hiding from us-"

Kyidyin didn't hear he rest of what Master Koth said as he exited the Archives, but he was disappointed that the Zabrak Councilor would speak so badly about Master Windu to another master.

The next day Kyidyin heard that Master Piell's seat on the council had been taken by the Nemoidian Master, Teuch Neuko. Adi had reported that some of the Council had been hesitant to appoint Neuko because he was currently away from Coruscant on his home planet of Nemoidia, and would be staying there indefinitely. "Some of the Council, mostly led by Masters Trebor and Tiin, did not like the idea of appointing someone to the Council when they would not be returning to Coruscant for some time." Adi had explained, "They didn't like the idea of electing someone who could not actively participate in events here, but eventually, the vote passed through and Master Neuko was given a seat on the High Council."

After a few days of training with Cinigan and Azarp, Kyidyin was surprised to meet Master Windu in his quarters after a training session with the padawans.

"Master Muchian," Windu said, "There are some things you should know about your apprentice"

"It has to do with this Darth Nihalis, doesn't it?" Guessed Kyidyin, "That's why you have been absent from High Council meetings."

Kyidyin had noticed that Mace hadn't been exiting with the other Councilors and had suspected that Windu had gone on a secret errand.

"Not strictly so, I attended by Hologram," Replied Master Windu "But yes, I have been investigating Nioman's past since he left the Jedi Order."

"And it involves Cinigan?"

"I'm afraid so, you see, Nioman Dokoora is your padawan's father."


	3. Part 1, Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 (The War Begins)**

Kyidyin sucked in his breath, he had not been oblivious to the fact that Cinigan and Darth Nihalis shared the same surname, at least not until recently, but had not wished to dwell on the possibilities.

"Approximately eight years after he left the Order" Explained Windu "Nioman had an affair with a woman on Corellia and, after she became pregnant, he abandoned her. With some research I was able to locate her, I searched the records until I found who your padawan had been taken from, she is still alive, though quite destitute, and she willingly told me about her romance with Nioman. It is not surprising to me that Nioman's son is force-sensitive, While they have been exceedingly rare, it would seem that children of Jedi are incredibly likely to be force-sensitive themselves. I brought this theory to Master Bulq and he agrees with me. But there can be no doubt that your apprentice is the son of Nioman Dokoora.

"I do not know what powers he may have inherited from his father, Nioman was an incredibly talented Jedi, and he may well have passed those powers on to his son. So be prudent in your training of Cinigan Dokoora."

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Master Windu."

"I hope that it can do you some good."

During the weeks that followed, the situation got even tenser. The Chancellor had pushed through the vote for a Grand Army of the Republic, Senator Padme Amidala had nearly been killed in an assassination attempt, and the council assigned Jedi to protect her. These Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, soon foiled another attempt on Amidala's life, prompting the Chancellor and the Council to order her to her home planet of Naboo, where she would be safe.

The search for Amidala's would-be assassin led Kenobi, who had been reassigned to this mission, to the previously unknown planet of Kamino. He was soon discovered that an army of clones had been built by the Kaminoans for the use of the Republic, though the Council had never authorized such a decision.

As Kyidyin had not yet attended one of the Council's meetings with Chancellor Palpatine, so he decided to go to one, mainly for something to occupy his time with. He stood slightly away from Adi and Plo, feeling somewhat uncomfortable, though he did notice Master Unduli and her padawan, Barriss Offee, standing against the wall and was comforted by that. The discussions did not greatly interest Kyidyin, so he set to study Palpatine's reactions to each thing said, while trying to guess Adi's. However, the monotony was broken when they received a transmission from Obi-Wan Kenobi, who had recently been tracking a bounty hunter called Jango Fett, who had been hired to assassinate Senator Amidala.

"_I've tracked the bounty hunter to the droid foundries on Geonosis," reported Kenobi, "The Trade Federation is to take a delivery of a droid army here. It is clear that Viceroy Gunray is behind the assassination attempts on Senator Amidala. The Commerce Guilds and Corporate Alliance have both pledged their armies to Count Dooku and are forming an-wait! Wait!"_

Obi-Wan ignited his lightsaber and backed out of the projector and was replaced by a Droideka. The transmission of Obi-Wan ended and was replaced by one of his padawan and Senator Amidala.

"More happening on Geonosis, I feel, than has been revealed" worried Yoda.

"I agree" said Master Windu, and he turned to the Hologram of Skywalker, "Anakin, we will deal with Count Dooku, the most important thing for you is to stay where you are. Protect the Senator at all costs. That is your first priority."

"_Understood, Master._" Said Anakin.

The office erupted into chatter which was quickly silenced by Mas Amedda. A discussion followed that decided that in order to commission the Clone Army, Palpatine must be granted emergency powers by the Senate, which, in the absence of Senator Amidala, Naboo representative, Gungan Jar Jar Binks, volunteered to propose this amendment to the Constitution of the Republic.

As soon as the Chancellor and Senators that had been present left, Windu got up. "Plo, Luminara, get the fighters ready and alert the Jedi Masters of what has happened. Adi, Kyidyin, come with Yoda and me to this Senate meeting."

The Senate meeting went flawlessly. Representative Binks spoke in support of the Chancellor and Palpatine, with what seemed to be a great deal of modesty, accepted the emergency powers and immediately used them to commission the Grand Army of the Republic.

After the meeting adjourned, Master Yoda departed for Kamino to retrieve the Clones while Mace, Kyidyin, and Adi went to the Jedi Temple to muster the Emergency Strike Force. Once they reached the Temple, Windu went to the High Council Chamber and the other two turned for the Hangar. On his way there, Kyidyin spotted Cinigan and shouted, "Cinigan, find Azarp and then make your way to the Hangar, Plo may have told him what's going on so you can ask him." When Kyidyin and Adi found the rest of the High Council and several other masters were waiting for them.

Plo came over from where he was supervising the moving of the Jedi Starfighters into a transport that would carry them to Geonosis, and asked "Is it settled?"

"Yes" Adi replied, "Master Yoda has already left for Kamino and Master Windu is informing the Jedi in the Temple what has happened."

As Adi spoke, Windu's voice came over a Temple loudspeaker, "_Attention, Obi-Wan Kenobi has been captured by the Separatists under Count Dooku. As this is a blatant act of war against the Republic, we have been commissioned to rescue Kenobi and capture the Separatist leaders on Geonosis. If we succeed, it will avoid a major war and halt the Separatist mobilization. This mission will be led by myself and the rest of the High Council, while Master Depa Billaba will remain here and supervise the Temple. I want all available Jedi Masters and Knights except for Temple Staff and Instructors to report to the Main Hangar as soon as possible, we will be leaving for Geonosis in twenty minutes_."

During the loading of the Starfighters, Kyidyin heard and argument between Master Unduli and her padawan, Barriss.

"Master, I cannot believe you're doing this" Cried Barriss, "You don't plan to allow me to come on what will be the most important mission in my life! All my training in tandem fighting and I won't be fighting at your side."

"I do not doubt your abilities," argued Luminara, "but I do not believe Master Windu intends padawans to be present on Geonosis. This is a highly dangerous battle that we will be entering and only the most experienced Jedi should come."

"But I do have combat experience, and everyone else is taking their padawans with."

"Something I believe to be a flaw in judgment."

Kyidyin decided to step in on Barriss's behalf "Luminara, I know I don't have any rights to tell you how to train a padawan, but this will be a great wealth of experience for Barriss, and as long as she is by your side, I highly doubt that she will be harmed as long as she stays at your side."

"I don't know about this…"

"Plo and I are taking our apprentices along"

"Alright, Barriss, you can come, but Kyidyin, if she dies, I'm holding you responsible."

"As you wish, Master Unduli"

The rest of the loading went smoothly and all two hundred and twelve Jedi and their Fighters successfully made it onto the transport. Once they had left Coruscant, Master Windu called a meeting of all the masters to discuss their plans. Once they jumped out of hyperspace, the Jedi would enter their Starfighters and descend to the planet. Adi would command a small force that would stay in space and would be responsible for getting the other Jedi to the planet. Once on the ground, Mace and Luminara would commandeer tanks to break in to the Petranaki Arena. The Jedi would then circle the arena as quietly as possible and wait for Master Windu's signal to enter. One force, divided in groups of seven led by Mace Windu, Eeth Koth, Shaak Ti, Coleman Trebor, Luminara, Kit, and Kyidyin would rescue Kenobi and clear the arena, hopefully capturing the Separatist leaders in the process. The other, smaller force, Led by Plo Koon and Ki-Adi Mundi, would attempt to destroy the Droid Control Ship, in an attempt to neutralize the Separatist Army, and other similar targets. Adi's primary objective, then, would be to insure that none of the Separatist Leaders and as few droids as possible escaped Geonosis.

During this meeting, Kyidyin noticed that Sora Bulq had boarded the transport for Geonosis, even though he was one of the Temple's principal teachers, but his presence was not disputed due to the fact that the Weequay was excellent at Lightsaber combat and his skills were welcome on the strike team.

After the Jedi had settled down Kyidyin heard a discussion between Kit Fisto and fellow master, Agen Kolar.

"I cannot understand why Master Windu would risk the lives of so many Jedi to save just one," Kolar was saying, "While as Jedi, we are to be selfless with our lives, Master Windu is risking far more than just his own."

"It is unlike you to question the Council's decisions" chided Kit.

"I am not questioning the Council's judgment, I only believe Master Windu has overstepped his authority in this matter."

"I agree the rest of the Council was as confused as we were until they received Mace's orders, but I do not think that he is trying to supersede their authority, only that he was moving quickly and efficiently without consulting them first."

"That is what worries me."

"Then you must hope that he only did it in a moment of crisis and will not act without their consent again. This is what I believe."

"I will try not to dwell on it." Said Kolar "I know Mace Windu has the Order's best interests at heart."

Kyidyin later heard another conversation as he meditated, this one between knights Pablo Jill and Sarissa Jeng.

"Sarissa," asked Jill "Do you know where Master Yoda is? He did not come with us, but was not mentioned as staying at the temple."

"I don't know," admitted Jeng, "Maybe he went on a mission elsewhere."

"Then nothing was said about it."

"It might have overlooked or unimportant. If it bothers you, you can always ask a member of the Council."

Kyidyin lost track of the knights' conversation as they moved to another part of the ship and he heard Agen Kolar and Kit Fisto talking again.

"Apart from my doubts of Master Windu's conduct earlier," asked Agen "Do you know why so many Jedi are being put at risk this way."

"Even ignoring the principal of rescuing Kenobi, the Separatists committed an act of war, if the Republic did not act, it would appear very weak indeed."

"Yes, I see what you mean, Master Fisto, I don't know why I didn't come to that conclusion on my own."

"You are busy thinking on the battle ahead, not on the reasons behind it, nothing shameful about that."

Kyidyin was indeed feeling a great deal of trepidation about the coming battle. He tried to calm himself, as a Jedi, he should not allow himself to be privy to strong emotions, a discipline Kyidyin had spent years trying to perfect. He had noticed that he could remain calmer than other Jedi in situations like these. Kyidyin attributed this to his mental conditioning that he cared so much about and the years he had spent training his mind to block emotion and to block fear and pain, all things that would interfere with his performance in dangerous situations.

They flew for several more hours, mostly silent, the few attempts at conversation soon died away, until the High Council emerged from the Bridge, where they had been fine-tuning the battle plans, and Master Windu said, "We've arrived at Geonosis, everyone, get to your fighters!'

**A/N:** **Hope you're looking forward to hearing about the Battle of Geonosis next chapter!**

**I have several more chapters written and will be adding them here shortly.**

**Don't forget to tell me what you think of the story so far.**


	4. Part 1, Chapter 4

**A/N: **Here it is, the Battle of Geonosis. I have tried to stick to what I read on Wookieepedia so as not to clash with anything so some of this isn't my own. This may be a boring chapter for some but its an integral part of the story and wouldn't work if I hadn't put it in.

**Chapter 4 (The Battle of Geonosis)**

In order to keep their location on Geonosis a secret to the Republic, the Separatists were unable to defend the planet from space. Without any ships to stop them, two hundred Jedi Starfighters landed on the planet virtually unhindered.

It was then Master Tiin's job to find where, exactly, Obi-Wan was being kept by breaking into the Geonosian computer system. Meanwhile Masters Unduli and Windu located tanks that could be used to break open any Geonosian or Separatist defenses.

Master Mundi addressed the assembled Jedi and said, "Now is the time to get into your teams. Those of you whose team leader is currently occupied, get in a group and wait for them. Remember, those of you being led by Master Koon or myself, be ready to exit the Arena once Kenobi has been rescued to destroy the Federation Cores.

Once Saesee finished locating Kenobi, he called the other team leaders over to inform them of what he had learned. "It appears the execution has already started. It is being held in the Petranaki Arena, a little to the northwest. If all your teams are gathered, then we should leave immediately, if we want any hope of Kenobi surviving until we arrive."

Kyidyin saw that by no means were the teams evenly distributed, both Plo Koon and Ki-Adi Mundi had relatively small teams, while Kit Fisto's team was more than twice the size of anyone else's. This was because Plo and Ki-Adi would be attacking the Separatist ships and would need small teams that were easy to keep track of, while Kit would lead the main attack on the droid forces inside the Arena and needed a massive force to do that.

By the time the Jedi were in position, they were not a second too early for Kenobi, as well as Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala, were sitting atop a Reek, a tough-skinned, bull-like beast, surrounded by Droidekas. The Jedi all watched the archducal box, where Mace Windu was talking to Count Dooku, lightsaber ignited. Suddenly, a bounty hunter in Mandalorian armor standing near Dooku blasted Mace with a flamethrower, causing the Councilor to fall into the Arena below.

At this signal, lightsabers ignited all around the Arena in flashes of blue and green and Kyidyin yelled "Get the Droidekas!" and his team rushed forward to rescue Kenobi, Skywalker, and Amidala. It was their job to rescue the captives, then join Fisto's and Windu's teams in the fighting near the center of the Arena. Meanwhile, Unduli's, Ti's, Trebor's, and Koth's teams would hold the droid forces off at the Arena entrances for as long as possible.

Lightsabers were thrown to Obi-Wan and Anakin and the Droidekas surrounding them either rolled to the regiments of Battle Droids entering the Arena or were destroyed. Battle Droids swarmed through the four entrances despite the Jedi's' best efforts to keep them out. Fisto's force charged them with Windu's and Kyidyin's on the flanks and the battle had officially begun.

For hours the battle would follow a repeating pattern. A wave of droids would break through one of the entrances, only to be halted by the Jedi in the center. Most of the droids would be repelled, though always at a cost in Jedi lives, only to regroup and start the process all over again. It was easily noticeable that the numbers of Jedi guarding the entrances was thinning. Kyidyin wondered how long this would hold before the Jedi defense collapsed.

Soon, at the entrance guarded by Eeth Koth and his team, a particularly large wave of Battle Droids not only broke through, but massacred many of the Jedi there. The droids were eventually destroyed but by the time Kyidyin could see them again, Master Koth and his team of Jedi had been completely wiped out and Battle and Super Battle Droids were pouring through the tunnel there. After this, Master Windu was forced to call the other Jedi guarding tunnel entrances to retreat back to the main force, so that they, too, would not be all killed.

By the time all the Jedi had retreated inside the Arena, Kyidyin guessed that less than a hundred remained, maybe eighty, of the original two-hundred. He also noticed that Cinigan and Azarp, whom Plo had placed in Kyidyin's team as well, were nowhere to be seen and almost certainly had been killed. Kyidyin realized that Luminara had been right and he should not have sent padawans, at least not ones as young as Cinigan and Azarp, into such a chaotic battle as this.

As he fought, Kyidyin remembered one of his first lessons with Master Dyjus Haronda, where he had been lectured on the methods of avoiding oncoming projectiles. The first, his master had said, was to simply evade the missile or missiles coming your way, all this required was speed and agility. The second, primarly used against blaster bolts has to block it with your lightsaber, a technique that, though it required a great deal of practice to be sufficient, was a skill that all Jedi Knights were expected to be able to perform, it also had the advantage of often deflecting and hitting the Jedi's opponent, which was ideal when fighting masses of droids. The third, which was the typical means of defense against oncoming rocks or debris, was to use telekinesis to shift the path of projectiles so that that would not collide with you or your allies.

On the subject of using this last method against blaster bolts Master Haronda had said this: "It takes an incredible amount of talent, as well as knowledge of the workings of energy in this way, to manipulate them [blaster bolts] to your will. It is not something I will teach you for a long time, perhaps I never will, though I can already tell you are a gifted learner, I have not deemed that any of my previous padawans were ready to study this, though I have come back to them with this after they had been knighted a few years. Even if I do decide to teach this to you, do not rely upon it, I do not believe even such accomplished masters as Reesa Doliq or Yoda can perform this without fail."

Master Haronda had taught Kyidyin how to deflect blaster bolts with the force but Master Muchian had never used it often, as it took far more effort to utilize than simply dodging. Once Kyidyin had become a knight, Master Haronda had retired from active service and resided permanently at the Jedi Temple, occasionally assisting Master Drallig in demonstrations to the Temple Initiates.

As the battle dragged on, Kyidyin saw that the remaining Jedi, who were falling very rapidly now, were being herded to the center of the Arena by the droids that now completely filled the Arena. It seemed imminent now that the Jedi would lose the battle in the Arena, the Battle Droids continued to pour in from the tunnels with no sign of ceasing and more Jedi were falling every minute. Kyidyin only hoped that, not managed to shut down the Droids' Control Ship, Plo and Ki-Adi had managed to escape the Separatist forces and that Adi had been able to hold off whatever Separatist resistance came at her and would be able to rescue Masters Koon and Mundi from the surface and that they all would be able to escape Geonosis.

As the fight dragged on, Kyidyin found himself fighting beside Kit Fisto "Shouldn't you be leading whatever's left of your team?" Kyidyin asked.

"Kyidyin," Fisto answered solemnly, "There aren't really any teams anymore. There's less than fifty of us left. There aren't any orders to give anyways, we're all just fighting for as long as we can now."

Kyidyin knew this was true and was glad to be fighting alongside Master Fisto when they each would, inevitably, be killed.

There were now only about twenty Jedi remaining that had been formed into a circle by the Battle Droids. These Jedi were Mace Windu, Shaak Ti, Saesee Tiin, Kit Fisto, Luminara Unduli, Sora Bulq, Agen Kolar, Stass Allie, Human Master Roth-Del Masona, Human Master Joclad Danva, Klatoonian Knight Tarados Gon, Human Knight Bultar Swan, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and to Kyidyin's immense surprise, Senator Amidala.

Kyidyin had just been about to think that these would be the final Jedi to be killed, when the droids stopped firing.

Meanwhile, in the stands overlooking the Arena, Cinigan Dokoora and Azarp Bark had not been killed. Early on in the battle they had been separated from the main group of Jedi and driven up to the stands, which had now been emptied of Geonosian spectators. There they met Barriss Offee, who was there due to similar circumstances.

They had fought their way through many droids and Geonosian Warriors, trying to regroup with Cinigan's and Barriss's masters. However, during one of these skirmishes, Azarp had been wounded in the head and shoulder and Cinigan and Barriss were forced to find a place to see if Barriss, who was being trained as a Jedi Healer, could do anything to heal Azarp's wounds.

They soon found an entrance tunnel that had mostly been caved in, but had a large enough space for Barriss to examine Azarp's wounds, while Cinigan protected them from any droids that came by. Eventually, after she had done all she could for Azarp, Barriss came over to the entrance, where Cinigan was watching the battle.

"How is it going?" She asked.

"They won't last much longer, the droids have endless reinforcements." Cinigan despaired.

"Can you see our masters?"

"Last I saw they were still standing, but how's Azarp?"

"Sleeping now, thankfully. He was really cranky about getting wounded."

"Sounds like him."

"Cinigan, what's wrong, there's something bothering you, besides the situation our masters are in, I mean."

"I just wish I could be down there, fighting alongside Master Kyidyin, but…" His face brightened, "I guess I could, now that you can protect Azarp"

"Cinigan, you can't go down there, now! There is no way you would make it past all those droids, and even if you did, then what? It's not as if your going down there will save anybody, it will only get you killed."

"Okay, I'll stay here, but it doesn't feel right. I wish I could communicate some of what I'm seeing to Kyidyin or Master Windu, but I know it would only distract them."

"They really should have incorporated a lookout into their plan, though. It could really help them to know what we're seeing, but I agree, if we contacted them now, the distraction would probably get them killed."

Cinigan and Barriss watched silently as the shrinking number of Jedi was forced into the center of the Arena. After only twenty Jedi remained the droids stopped firing and Dooku spoke, "Master Windu, you have fought gallantly. Worthy of recognition archives of the Jedi Order." As Dooku spoke, Plo Koon, Ki-Adi Mundi, and a Twi'lek Jedi Cinigan believed was named Aayla Secura were brought into the survivors' circle by Super Battle Droids, "Now it is finished. Surrender, and your lives will be spared."

"We will not be hostages for you to barter with, Dooku." Retorted Windu.

As the droids prepared to fire on the Jedi, gunships flew down into the Arena with Yoda and dozens of Clone Troopers onboard. The gunships rained fire on the Battle Droids and several landed to let the remaining Jedi get on.

"Cinigan!" Barriss exclaimed "We need to get down there or they'll leave us behind."

"Okay, you try to signal them, I'll get Azarp out here."

When Cinigan had dragged Azarp out of the cave, Barriss told him that she hadn't managed to get the gunships' attention yet, they decided to bring Azarp down to a more visible point and try there. They knew that they wouldn't be able to make it to the floor of the Arena before the Gunships took off, and there were still a great number of droids down there yet. As they descended, Cinigan hauling Azarp, who was slung over his shoulder, Luminara, who was in a gunship that had just taken off again, saw them and told the pilot to pick them up.

The gunship, which was also carrying Shaak Ti, Saesee Tiin, and Roth-Del Masona, then flew to the rendezvous and unloaded the Jedi there.

**A/N:** I hope you liked and, even though just about everybody knows what will happen in the battle, I hope I created a little suspense wondering if Cinigan and Azarp will make it out.

I also think that I will delete my canon statement thing in the beginning (or add it to the first chapter) because it has far more views so far than anything else which makes me think that it could be deterring readers and it really isn't necessary.


	5. Part 1, Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 (Leading a War)**

As soon as the Clone Gunships landed Kyidyin and Kit jumped into Yoda's with Mace and Ki-Adi. Some of the gunships remained to clear the droids out of the Arena, while the ones carrying Jedi flew off to a predetermined rendezvous point. Once there, most of the Jedi redeployed to lead the Clone Troopers into battle against the Separatist Droid Army.

Kyidyin fought alongside the Clones for a while, but eventually had to retire to the Command Center, due to the fact that believed he was too exhausted to fight effectively. When he arrived, Cinigan, Barriss, and Azarp, whose head and shoulder were badly bandaged, sprinted up to Kyidyin.

"Master," Cinigan called, "May we lead battalions of Clone Troopers now,"

"Luminara wouldn't let us" Continued Barriss.

"We've been able to rest all day" added Azarp.

"And you can hardy say we would be putting our lives at risk, now." Finished Cinigan.

"All right" consented Kyidyin, "Cinigan, Barriss, you two can go, Azarp, you need to stay here unless Master Plo says otherwise."

This, of course, yielded a great deal of complaint from Azarp, but Kyidyin held firm in his decision to keep the injured padawan away from the main battle.

Kyidyin spent the rest of the battle with Mace, Yoda, Ki-Adi, Shaak Ti, and other Jedi that dropped in directing the Clone forces from the Command Center and slowly, but surely, the Clones began pushing the droids off of the planet. During much of this time Yoda looked troubled and eventually said, "In danger of being overwhelmed by Dooku, Skywalker and Kenobi are, aid them in defeating him, I must."

"Do you want anyone to accompany you, master?" asked Shaak Ti.

"Stay here and assist in directing the Clones, you must. Capable of defeating Dooku, I am."

As Yoda left, Kyidyin felt troubled. He knew of Yoda's immense skills, but he was also aware that Dooku had been one of the most powerful Jedi in the Order before he left. What if his skills had increased since then? Was it possible that Dooku could defeat Yoda? These questions continued to nag at Kyidyin, but he trusted Yoda's judgment and decided not to mention his fears to the other Jedi.

Master Windu soon left to command the troops from closer to the front line, while the other Jedi remained at the command center, organizing battalions from there.

Adi gave a report on her situation soon after that. Her forces had been reinforced first by the Clones' Assault Ships when they arrived in the Geonosis System, and later by Saesee Tiin and a battalion of ARC-170 Fighters. Adi's and Saesee's combined forces had been able to thwart any attempt at Separatist bombardment of Republic forces on the surface, but they simply didn't have enough firepower to prevent the Trade Federation Cores from jumping to Hyperspace, carrying tens of thousands of Battle Droids on them, all of which would later be able to attack Republic forces in future battles.

After Adi finished her report, Masters Ti and Mundi, Kyidyin remained to speak with her.

"Something is bothering you," He said shrewdly.

"I don't know, it's not really bothering me too much, it's just that I wish that Plo could have been sent to help here instead of Saesee. I know that sounds really bad and it isn't that I dislike Saesee, I've known him since we were padawans, but it's just that Plo is much easier to coordinate a battle with, he is the type of person that everybody gets along with, whereas Saesee, he's used to doing things himself. He has never trained a padawan and when he is on missions, he normally goes alone. He functions well with the Council, but in battle, he isn't used to co-leading with someone. And while I certainly am comfortable in space, he is the best pilot in the Order and this is his area of expertise."

"I see, you're just having a difficult time with him and you know you'd be much more comfortable if it were Plo."

"Exactly, thanks for letting me get that of my chest, but I need to focus on the battle now. Gallia out."

As it was, the battle did not last much longer and soon the Jedi and many of the Clones were being flown to the Cruisers under Adi's supervision. Kit Fisto, Aayla Secura, and Roth-Del Masona remained on Geonosis to mop up the last of the Separatist control over the planet and to subdue the Geonosians before returning to Coruscant. Kyidyin heard from Yoda that Dooku had escaped Geonosis after defeating Kenobi and Skywalker in a duel.

During the journey from Geonosis to Coruscant, the High Council constantly kept communication with the Chancellor, discussing how to handle the war that was about to spring up around them. It was agreed that the Jedi would become generals of the Army of the Republic and continue to lead the Clones into battle. The Council agreed to call all the Jedi scattered across the galaxy to Coruscant to participate in the war.

Upon the return to the Jedi Temple, Kyidyin was summoned before the Jedi Council. He believed that they had assigned him a mission. However, it turned out to be another matter entirely.

"Kyidyin Muchian," Said Master Windu, "The Council has decided that you are to take Master Eeth Koth's place here on the High Council. Please, take a seat.

Kyidyin obeyed and sat down in the empty chair between Master Billaba and Master Giedril, an Orondal Master that Kyidyin assumed had been chosen to replace Master Coleman Trebor, who had been slain on Geonosis. The remainder of the Council Session was spent assigning missions to Jedi Knights and Masters, many of whom had just returned to Coruscant in response to the Council's call to war.

After the session Kyidyin hunted Adi down, "I'm assuming that you had a great deal to do with my appointment to the Council," He said.

"Nonsense…okay, I was the one who suggested that you be given one of the empty seats, but my opinion alone would not have won you a spot on the Council."

"But then, why did they elect to give me this honor, I've only been a master for a few years…they must have felt compelled to because I fought a Geonosis."

"The Council isn't petty like that. If they were handing out positions like that, why didn't they give them to Kit Fisto or Obi-Wan Kenobi instead?" Kyidyin hesitated, so Adi continued, "Look, I know that you won't compare yourself to anyone on the Council, but we need Jedi like you in our numbers. Everyone on the Council, including you, are incredibly powerful Jedi, but many of them are more specialized. Immensely talented in one area, but comparatively weak in others, that is why we chose you. While you may not shine as bright as any of them in a specific area, you perform well in any situation. That is what we need, Councilors who we can trust to succeed in a mission, regardless of what skills they will need, someone we can use whenever and wherever, someone like you."

"I see what you mean, but I still do not believe I'm ready to take part in leading the Jedi Order."

"That confidence will grow in time, you'll see."

Kyidyin knew that humility was a major value of the Jedi, but that false modesty and a lack of confidence were detrimental and made a person look weak. He knew that if he protested against his ability to serve on the Council, he would probably lose the respect of many of the Jedi Masters there. And as he studied himself and his abilities, Kyidyin saw that he was more powerful than he had given himself credit for. While he still felt uncomfortable as a leader of such a high esteem, as Adi had said, his confidence would grow with experience. For now, he must accept his position and do his best to satisfy the Council's expectations of him.

Kyidyin's first assignment was to guard the planet of Chandrila, home of Senator Mon Mothma, from an impending Separatist attack. He decided early on in the battle to keep as much of the fighting in space as possible as a major ground battle might devastate the agriculture-based Chandrilan economy. Kyidyin rearranged the weapons on the All-Terrain-Tactical-Enforcer tanks and other artilleries to counter Separatist landing craft, while stationing fighters to destroy any droid bombers.

He was eventually forced to recall the remaining Republic Fighters to intercept three Separatist Battleships that had been deployed to utilize planetary bombardment against Chandrila and the Republic forces there. The Republic fighter force, led by Cinigan and coordinated by Kyidyin, were able to destroy one of the battleships and deterred the others until they were reinforced by Republic Assault Ships. With their Battleships gone, the Separatists were forced to call off the attack on Chandrila.

Overall, Kyidyin's objective of drawing the fighting away from the surface, where it would harm Chandrilan civilians proved successful. The Republic faced only minor troop and moderate vehicle casualties while holding off a much larger Separatist landing force. Kyidyin had also proven himself to be an able leader and was awarded the rank of High General, which, for the most part, was only held by High Councilors like himself.

After Kyidyin returned to the Temple, he continued to serve on the Council and train Cinigan on Coruscant. It was during this time, after a disastrous battle on Hypori, that the Council learned of the existence of Separatist cyborg General, Grievous, who had been specifically trained by Count Dooku to kill Jedi. Master Ki-Adi Mundi reported that Grievous was, indeed, very deadly, nearly killing Mundi, Shaak Ti and several other Jedi, unaided. Only the timely arrival of Clones with heavy machine guns saved Mundi and Ti from being slaughtered by Grievous.

During the following months Kyidyin and the rest of the Jedi High Council participated in directing the war, sending Jedi to lead regiments of Clone Troopers to fight the Separatist Droid Armies on hundreds of star systems across the Galaxy. Like many of the other Councilors, Kyidyin remained on Coruscant to coordinate the war; Occasionally members of the Council were sent on important assignments but it was rare as they needed to keep their full attention on the war at large rather than one isolated battle. Adi, especially, was frustrated with this but she knew that the Council relied on her to keep the politicians in line and she never once complained of her duties causing her to remain cooped up on Coruscant.

Kyidyin knew that Cinigan longed to be out on the battle field with his friends but he kept it to himself and moaned of his misfortune with Azarp Bark, who also was confined to Coruscant with Plo Koon and hadn't left since the Battle of Geonosis. Kyidyin remembered being surprised when he first saw Azarp after returning from Chandrila to see that the Tusken-born padawan had acquired a gruesome set of facial tattoos that A'Sharad Hett, also raised among Tuskens, had helped him apply. Azarp said that he had been considering it for a while and, after his recent sixteenth birthday, finally chose to have Hett apply them.

**A/N: Sorry if Geonosis had a lame ending but I didn't know what else to do with it.**

**Also, tell me if you would like to see more battle summaries like the one for Chandrila, I can probably fit them into the story but I wont waste time coming up with ideas for them if you don't want them. Most major battles that I am going to include will probably be set up similar to Geonosis with a chapter or two dedicated to them. There will be about five or six of these before I wrap up the Clone War (which is far from the end of the story!)**


	6. Part 1, Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 (Enhancing Shii-Cho)**

Eventually, after weeks stationed at the Temple, Cinigan convinced Kyidyin to assign himself to a mission, his new position on the Council provided him with such authority. As his assignment, Kyidyin chose, with the permission of the Council, to go with Kit Fisto to Glee Anselm, the latter's homeworld, which had recently been invaded by the Separatists and would soon succumb to its forces without Republic aid.

As soon as they arrived at the Glee Anselm system, Kyidyin deferred command of the mission to Kit, who was far more familiar with the world than he was and had been originally chosen by the Council to lead the mission. By the time the Jedi arrived, Separatist forces had captured all of the Nautolan and Anselmi settlements on the planet's few landmasses and the Nautolan Resistance had been forced underwater to defend themselves where Separatist tanks and most of its droids could not follow.

Before landing, the Republic ships had to break a hole in the Separatist Fleet defenses, Kit decided to take this a step further and ordered his forces to wipe out the Separatist cargo ships, preventing the droids from leaving Glee Anselm. It was not difficult to land on the planet because the Separatist cannons could not provide full coverage over the planet due to the limited land area there. With their unchallenged control of the space around the planet, the Republic Cruisers would normally commence in planetary bombardment on Glee Anselm's land masses, but Kit decided this would lead to too heavy of a risk of the islands submerging, which would destroy both native species' way of life. Bombardment would also kill all of the civilians that were still trapped under Separatist control.

After supervising the landing of the troops and studying the situation, Master Fisto decided that he and Kyidyin would infiltrate the main Separatist base and takeout its main power generator while trying to disrupt any droid signaling in hopes of the Battle Droids eventually running out of power. Kit also hoped that they would be able to discover what Separatist reinforcements were inbound for the area to better plan their attacks. They were able to successfully able to enter the main Separatist compound and learn that no reinforcements were currently inbound for Glee Anselm, though they could be called on and arrive quickly if needed.

After returning to their underwater base the Jedi decided that their force was far larger than necessary to infiltrate and neutralize the Separatist holdouts and that more troops might even compromise the mission so they chose to send half of the cones away with the cruisers to halt any droid armies from entering or leaving the planet and to give the garrisons a false sense of security. Then, after waiting several rotations, the Republic force would begin its attack on the main island and hopefully catch the invaders by surprise.

While the Jedi waited to begin their assault Kit and Kyidyin were discussing the emergence of General Grievous and the weakness of the Jedi, even celebrated masters like Ki-Adi Mundi and Shaak Ti, against the cyborg general. Struck with an idea Kyidyin said, "Perhaps the Council should set up a training system to better prepare Jedi to fight lightsaber wielding opponents like Grievous or the Dark Jedi that Dooku is rumored to be training."

"The stories about Dark Jedi are more than rumors," informed Kit, "two of them, named Tol Skorr and Kadrian Sey, have been spotted and there's bound to be more."

"And they are being trained personally by Dooku, most likely for the sole purpose of killing Jedi and we aren't prepared to fight them, that much was made clear on Hypori."

"I see your point but it would be difficult to implement any widespread training with Jedi scattered all over the Galaxy."

"Oh, I agree but perhaps the Council could send out a notice to those on field missions so that they are fully warned of this threat and encourage them to hone their skills in dueling."

"That is your area of influence not mine but it is a good suggestion."

"I think I will mention it to the Council sometime...of course, its highly possible that Master Windu already sent out a notice to the various Jedi."

"This brings up another idea," said Kit thoughtfully, "you are a practitioner of Form I, are you not?"

"Yes..."

"As am I. And Form I, or Shii-Cho, is the most vulnerable in a dueling situation, especially against Makashi."

"Yes, what are you getting at?"

"Perhaps, while we have time on our hands, we could hone our own skills by dueling one another to better ready ourselves in case either of us must ever fight on of Dooku's Dark Acolytes. Your padawan could even moderate and see how we do," he ended in a chuckle.

"Alright, when do you want to do this."

"I'll make sure everything is going smoothly and meet you in Hangar 5."

"I'll go get Cinigan then."

Five minutes later, the Jedi met in Hangar Five, each had collected training lightsabers for the training session.

"How shall we begin?" asked Kit.

"I don't know," said Kyidyin, "I suppose we can start with a typical training duel and concentrate on analyzing the weaknesses in the other's form."

It had been years since Kyidyin had dueled anyone that used Form I, as both his first padawan, Sta Atato, and Cinigan used Form II and Kyidyin was accustomed to taking the defensive role and waiting for an opening to appear. Kit, however, did not move in for a series of offensive attacks but give several wary approaches with his lightsaber, judging Kyidyin's reactions to them. With this focus Kit was able to perfectly manage his defense while Kyidyin was forced to move in for an attack. This lasted quite a while until Cinigan told them that someone had to take an offensive stance or they would never conclude the duel.

In this moment of distraction, Kit stuck out with his blade and, before Kyidyin had time to react, had knocked it from his hand.

"Nice one," Kyidyin complimented

"You should not have been so easily distracted by your apprentice."

"You're right, but that was still an excellent move."

They fought several more rounds, each ending with a speedily implemented stroke that disarmed one of them. After this Kit suggested that he face off aginst Cinigan to see how he fared against a wielder of Makashi. As soon as the duel began, Cinigan rushed in with a flurry of blows and, in a matter of seconds, had been disarmed and thrown to the ground by Kit.

"You're technique is quick and accurate, "observed Kit,"but you leave no room to parry a counterattack, relying too much on your opponent's inability to react to your stream of attacks. You must remember, one well-placed strike is far more useful than five sloppy ones."

"How can i afford to wait for a good opportunity if doing so allows my enemy to gain the upper hand?" asked Cinigan.

"You must improve your defensive capabilities so that you can watch what your opponent does and take advantage when you see an opening."

"Offense may be your strong point," added Kyidyin, "but it is also likely to be the strong point of any darksider that you face and it is better to find their weakness than to go head to head with them and fall to superior bladework. Every swordsman has a weakness, you just need to find it."

"Thank you, masters." said Cinigan before departing.

"He has potential," said Kit, "He just needs to find a way to study his opponent and defend adequately so that he is not overpowered as soon as he loses his advantage."

"Yes, i think his constant training with me has forced him to constantly be the attacker and he hasn't been able to learn how to defend himself well enough."

Kyidyin and Kit spent the rest of the day trying out different moves and documenting them for later study. Overall the training session had been a success and Kyidyin felt somewhat better prepared for any future encounters with Dooku's Dark Acolytes. He also had learned a great deal of what Cinigan still needed to learn and he would now be better equipped for such training sessions with his padawan.

The Separatists retreated from Glee Anselm a couple weeks later and Kit's home planet was liberated. Kit and Kyidyin said farewell and Kyidyin departed for Coruscant while Kit said that he would stay on Glee Anselm a little while longer to help return the planet to normal. He thanked Kyidyin for helping him save his homeworld and for studying various improvements for Form I with him. And, while Cinigan had not exactly gotten the action he was hoping, he had learned ways to improve his combat style and he would get plenty of action on his next assignment to the planet of Iridonia.

*A few weeks after the Battle of Glee Anselm, the Council received a blow when Sora Bulq, who had been first believed dead in a gunship crash on Geonosis only to rescue Master Tholme from Dooku on Bakura, turned to the Dark Side and joined Count Dooku and the Separatists. Mace had fought him on Sora's estate on Ruul, but, because of the interference of another Darksider, Asajj Ventress, Sora managed to escape the moon.

**A/N: I'm not entirely pleased with this but it serves purposes in my story and i needed to keep it.**

**Sorry for the somewhat long update time but, in return, there are now three chapters added! (7 and 8 had been written previously and i was just waiting for this to put them on)**


	7. Part 1, Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 (The King of Iridonia)**

A few weeks after the Battle of Glee Anselm, the Council received a blow when Sora Bulq, who had been first believed dead in a gunship crash on Geonosis only to rescue Master Tholme from Dooku on Bakura, turned to the Dark Side and joined Count Dooku and the Separatists. Mace had fought him on Sora's estate on Ruul, but, because of the interference of another Darksider, Asajj Ventress, Sora managed to escape the moon.

Five months into the war, Kyidyin was sent to Iridonia to recapture it after the Zabrak government had chosen to side with the Separatists and had driven Republic forces off of the planet. Iridonia held a key position between the Outer and Inner Rims and it was crucial that it remained in Republic hands. Kyidyin and Cinigan had been dispatched with Jedi Knight, Hapond Usera and his padawan, Terev Natron to defeat the Zabrak forces and bring them back into the Republic before the Separatists could arrive in force and secure the planet.

The Iridonian forces had many ships, but were quickly overpowered by the Republic battleships and were forced to flee to the other side of Iridonia and allow the Republic forces to land on the planet. Similar situations occurred on the surface, with Iridonian forces outnumbered and outgunned by the Republic's army and it took only days for the Clones to reach the outskirts of the Capital of Iridonia.

"Tomorrow we will begin our assault on the Capital," said Kyidyin while briefing the troops, "It is absolutely crucial that we capture it within the week at the most, so far our recon ships haven't detected any Separatist Transports but every day that passes increases the likelihood of their arrival. We must have secured the Capital before they arrive, if we don't, it will lead us into a prolonged siege which we do not have enough supplies to maintain.

"I will lead the attack on the ground, while General Usera takes command of the fighter force, which will provide us with air support as well as bombing key targets. My hope is that, if we utilize the bomber force correctly, we can frighten the Iridonian Government into surrendering to us. I have no intention, however, of bombing strictly civilian areas, only Government property that will result in minimal non-military casualties, but will make the Zabrak Council think twice about resisting us. If we can convince the Government to surrender to the Republic, it will lead most of its warriors to follow suit."

Hapond Usera spoke then, "Be careful once we are inside the city, as you all should know from your training, the defenders will have a massive advantage and are sure to manipulate the city's crowded structure to their advantage"

"Exactly," agreed Kyidyin, "each squad must have at least one rearguard, probably more, as the Zabraks are sure to attack from behind out of houses once we have passed ahead of them."

It took several days to penetrate deep into the city. The Zabrak forces put up a stiff resistance and the Iridonian Government refused to discuss surrender. All of the Jedi were surprised at their resolve against the Republic, especially as Iridonia had only recently joined the Confederacy of Independent Systems and had shown little dissent against the Republic before then.

On the fifth day of the fighting, the Iridonian Resistance finally began to capitulate and the Republic managed to occupy most of the Capital. Before the day was over, Kyidyin hoped to capture the Central Plaza, which was overlooked the Government Center, called the Tandoun, and position his troops at the Zabrak Council's doorstep. Everything went as planned and Kyidyin's force reached the Plaza by mid-afternoon, but there they were faced with a major difficulty.

"Hapond," said Kyidyin over his communicator, "We've run into a problem. My forces have reached the outskirts of the Plaza, but there are many gun emplacements on the Tandoun overlooking it and the Zabrak warriors and civilians on the Plaza will make it impossible to rush below the guns and enter the building. I need your bombers to eliminate the guns so that my forces can take the Plaza."

"_I'm on my way. Usera out_."

Soon afterwards, Kyidyin was contacted by Cinigan, whose battalion was engaging the Zabraks on the other side of the Plaza. "_Master_," he said, "_I hope you're hurrying on your side. My forces are pinned down over here and the Plaza is on too high of an elevation from here for my guys to advance until you take the Plaza on you're side, which will force the gunman on my side to turn around and fight you, while my forces advance up the ridge_."

"Hold on a little longer, my force will soon be free to take the Plaza, we're just waiting for Master Usera to take out some emplacements that are hampering our advance, he will be here any second and I'll be able to bail you out."

As Kyidyin spoke, he saw the fighter force engage the emplacements on the Tandoun and Hapond's voice came over the communicator again, "_Kyidyin, we've drawn their attention away from you, but we won't be able to hold them this way for long, I suggest that you move your forces in now while the gunners are still distracted_."

"Acknowledged, Muchian out."

Advancing through the Plaza, however, was much easier said than done, as it was already packed with Zabrak civilians who had foolishly fled there after the city was captured as well as members of the Zabrak Resistance, the driving force against Republic control mingled throughout the crowd. Several of these, seeing that Kyidyin was the leader, attempted to kill him through stealth or a surprise attack, none of these succeeded and Kyidyin made it to the entrance of the Government Quarters.

With the Republic in control of the Plaza, most of the remaining Zabrak warriors in the Plaza and throughout the Capital surrendered and the defenders on the Tandoun ceased firing on the Clones, yet the Jedi had not yet received word from the Zabrak Council suggesting a treaty so, after an hour of waiting, Kyidyin decided to enter the Tandoun and discuss a surrender with them.

By the time Kyidyin announced this decision, Hapond and his padawan had landed. "The Zabrak Council has had enough time to deliberate, I'm going to go in there and get a decision from them. Hapond, Terev, you stay here and continue to organize our occupation of the city, Cinigan, come with me, you need more experience in diplomacy."

Kyidyin and Cinigan entered the Government Building unhindered, but once inside, Kyidyin cautioned, "Have your lightsaber at the ready, as it is highly likely that we will be attacked before we reach the Council Chamber, whether by its will or not."

"Of course, master."

Two attempts on the Jedi's lives were made, but neither were harmed, nor were any of the offending Zabraks killed or permanently injured. And so it was that Kyidyin and Cinigan reached the Chambers of the Zabrak Council, headed by King Hatoth. When they entered, they were greeted by the King, who had previously been in discussion with a hologram of none other than Zabrak Jedi Master, Agen Kolar.

"Oh I see you have finally made it," said the King, "with you here, it seems we can begin the terms of our surrender."

"_Then I will leave the negotiations to Master Muchian_," Said Agen "_and Kyidyin, congratulations on your appointment to the High Council_"

"A member of the High Council?" mused Hatoth "I'm impressed that they though so much of Iridonia to send one of their own members here. Now, "he said in a more business-like tone "We have decided that, under the circumstances, we will rejoin the Republic and, before you decide how to deal with us, I would wish for you to understand why we chose to join the CIS.

"I would have you know that in was not the original intent of our Council to begin a war with the Republic but we are simply a conduit for the will of the population, which, directly after your battle at Geonosis, was clamoring for a war against the Republic. You see, we Zabraks are an inherently warlike species and, as we had already had disputes with the Senate on several occasions, it seemed a simple matter for many of the people that we should join the Separatists. They were itching for a chance to prove that they were far superior to the humans that dominate the Republic and this war gave them the greatest opportunity they could possibly imagine.

"The Council warned them that, without the aid of the Separatist Droid Army, they would fall like leaves to the vastly superior weapons and numbers of the Republic, but they could not be swayed. It would be against the nature of the Council to contradict such an overwhelming desire for war and when Count Dooku promised us with reinforcements if Iridonia would join the Separatist Movement, we could not refuse him and thus, we seceded from the Republic."

"When were these reinforcements Dooku promised scheduled to arrive?" Asked Kyidyin.

"Oh, they should have been here weeks ago. It is my belief that Dooku had no intention of reinforcing us with his droids when we agreed to join his Separatists. He said something about having more troops to use for an offensive on Jabiim, at the time, I was under the impression that he meant that he would not need to supplement an invasion of Iridonia, not that he had no intention of reinforcing us at all!"

"I see, what will you do if Separatist forces were to land on Iridonia now?"

"That depends"

"On what?"

"Whether the Republic's or the Separatists' army was larger."

"So you're playing both sides of the war."

"No, but if I believe that the Separatists will capture my planet regardless of what I do, then I will side with the Separatists, it is only logical"

"Yet not necessarily honorable."

"Is it honorable to fight a war that you cannot win? Answer me that, Jedi Master."

"It depends on your view of honor."

"And what would your view of honor be, hmm?"

"That you should stand by your decisions and your people, regardless of the danger."

"Yet if I fight a war, and lose, more of my people will be harmed and killed, than if I submit and, thus, avoid the fighting."

"In doing so, you would lose the respect of the Zabrak people. To submit to an opponent, rather than battle it out with them, would disregard every notion of honor that the Zabraks cherish."

Hatoth remained silent for some time, pondering how to respond to Kyidyin's argument. All of the other members of the Zabrak Council, who had remained silent during the entire debate, sat on the edges of their chairs, anxiously awaiting their King's response. The silence held for seconds, then a minute, then five, until Cinigan broke it, saying nervously "Master, sorry to, um, interrupt, but there is something that you should probably see."

Kyidyin walked over to the window and saw what had worried Cinigan. A fleet of escorted Separatist transport ships had arrived on Iridonia. As soon as they realized that the Republic had captured the capital, the fighter escorts began to wreak havoc across the city while the transports cleared a place on the city's main landing platform to drop off their cargo of Battle Droids and by the time the Clones realized what was happening, it was too late."

"Cinigan" Ordered Kyidyin, "go down to the Plaza and tell Master Usera to hold tight and that I will be there soon."

"Yes, master."

"Hatoth, will the remainder of your forces aid the Republic in battle?"

"I will do what I can to persuade them to help you, esteemed Jedi, but I cannot speak for them. I doubt that will see any honor in fighting non-living enemies such as droids, but I try to make them see your point of view on this matter and as it is their city being attacked, there is a good chance of swaying them."

"Good, I am happy that we could come to an agreement."

"As am I."

King Hatoth then strode over to the broadcaster typically used by the Council to let the population know its verdict on any matter of debate, "This is your King, Hatoth. By order of the Zabrak Council, all who are unable to fight are to flee to the safehouses under the city and avoid the fighting. All who can bear arms are encouraged to stand with the Army of the Republic against this droid menace that plagues our city. In the least do not hinder the Republic from defending your fellow citizens."

Then Kyidyin spoke, "This is High General Kyidyin Muchian, all Republic forces are to converge at the Separatist landing point and halt the droid expansion into the city. Do all in your power to protect and defend the people of Iridonia and fight alongside its warriors. I will continue to relay orders to you as they become necessary."

"Now" he said to Hatoth, "I should join the battle and fight alongside my men."

"Perhaps that would not be the wisest choice, you will have a much better vantage point on the battle from here and as you have already seen, you can give orders far more effectively this way."

"It may not be the right decision, but I will heed your suggestion."

"Remember," said the King, "it is not always between choosing what is right or wrong, but what is practical."

"Perhaps."

Cinigan's voice came over the communicator then, "_Master_," he said, breathless, "_one of Dooku's Dark Jedi…broke through our lines…she killed Master Usera…and she's heading straight towards you…I thinks she's already entered the building…and master…I think it's Asajj Ventress!_"

**A/N: This chapter was a lot of fun to write and King Hatoth, who wasn't originally go be anyone but i loved him so much that he is going to appear later in the story.**

**As always hoped you liked the chapter.**


	8. Part 1, Chapter 8

**Chapter 7 (Dooku's Assassin)**

"Cinigan, I will deal with Ventress, you must take charge of the battle in Master Usera's stead."

"_Terev can lead the battle, you need me master!"_

"I can handle Ventress, but when Terev realizes that his master has been killed, it could break him, I need to know I can count on you."

"_Yes master…I'll stay_."

"Good. Keep your head in the battle, regardless of what your senses tell you has happened to me, it is crucial that the Clones have a leader."

"_You can count on me, master_."

"I know. Muchian out."

Kyidyin turned to King Hatoth, "is there any way that you can get the Council out of here without using the main entrance" As he spoke, a red-bladed lightsaber penetrated the doors and began cutting a hole through them.

"There is a secret tunnel that leads out of the city from here."

"Good," said Kyidyin, igniting his lightsaber, "Take them through there. Quickly! Before she breaks through the door."

"They know the way, I will stand here and fight with you." As he said this, Hatoth ignited a laser blade on his scepter.

"No! I do not doubt your prowess in battle but you are no match for Dooku's Assassin! You must protect the Zabrak Council."

"I disagree but this is no time for argument, I will do as you suggest."

No sooner had the Zabrak Council retreated through the secret passage, then Ventress's hole in the door was completed and she blasted it aside with the Force and entered the conference room. Her curved-handled lightsabers were already out when she said, "Ah, I thought I sensed a Jedi here. It seems our Iridonian friends have betrayed us, no matter, they will be dealt with soon. First, it seems I have a Jedi to kill."

Ventress lunged at Kyidyin even before she had finished speaking but he had already seen that she would do this and had been perfectly ready for her assault. Ventress was the first opponent that Kyidyin had fought who utilized the combat form Jar-Kai, which required the use of two blades. Though he had never fought against it, Kyidyin had studied it as a padawan, as he had all other forms and styles of lightsaber combat, and knew how to find weaknesses in it.

The primary weakness in Jar-Kai is that the wielder, unable to use a two-handed defense against powerful strikes, had to resort to speed to evade the attacks or to continually stay on the offensive, something that Ventress's fighting style revolved around. That, then, could be turned into a disadvantage, if Kyidyin could only force her onto the defensive, he could overcome her.

That, however, would by no means be an easy task as her use of multiple lightsabers allowed Ventress to constantly batter at Kyidyin's defense as while Kyidyin parried one lightsaber, the other could be moved to strike at him, which forced him to be constantly vigilant and in motion to avoid being struck by one of her blades. Kyidyin knew there must be a hole in the flurry of red, it was just a matter of finding it.

The battle lasted for well over half an hour, with Kyidyin oblivious to the state of the battle throughout the city except to the fact that it was still raging strong. Kyidyin was now extremely grateful for the practice he had received with Master Fisto in dueling and enhancing Form I beyond its typical application. He also had perceived during the fight that Form I, usually applied against many opponents, could be used to counter multiple lightsabers that were wielded by a single opponent.

Kyidyin also turned to his wealth of intuition to discover Ventress's strokes before she initiated them, allowing Kyidyin to counter them more effectively. He now fully appreciated Master Haronda's intense training on seeing into the mind of your enemy to discover their hidden motives, which Kyidyin now used fully against Ventress. He knew if he could just see deep enough into her mind, he could find a gap in her tactics and defeat her.

This opportunity arose when they entered a bladelock, her red-bladed lightsabers pressed against his blue one in what would seem to be a test of pure strength. Kyidyin, however, had been attempting to orchestrate such a situation for some time as it would be his best chance to gain access to Ventress's mind. They were both physically and mentally exhausted from their long duel but Kyidyin gathered his remaining strength into one single, powerful mental probe, desperate to discover Ventress's weakness.

When Ventress realized what Kyidyin was doing, she panicked and attempted to withdraw from the bladelock. Kyidyin knew this may well be his last chance and he pushed with all his might against her lightsabers with his own. He able to force her back and, in her moment of weakness, Kyidiyin took the opportunity and aimed one, powerful stroke at her neck and it had the desired result. Ventress, who did not expect a Jedi to go for a killing blow, was forced to parry with both lightsabers, allowing Kyidyin to take the offensive.

Kyidyin pushed his advantage, forcing Ventress back with quick, deft strokes of his lightsaber and soon, one saber and then the other flew from her hands and she was forced to the ground.

"Surrender, Ventress." Commanded Kyidyin.

"NO!" She screamed and emitted a powerful Force Blast, knocking Kyidyin off his feet and sending him, hurtling, across the room and causing his lightsaber to fly from his hand. Asajj quickly grabbed her lightsabers and lunged at Kyidyin, who knew he would never have time to retrieve his own. She was feet from him when another figure barreled into her, altering her course. It was King Hatoth.

Their fight was brief and furious, but Hatoth soon fell back, wounded, struck by Ventress's lightsaber. But his distraction had allowed Kyidyin to grab his weapon and rejoin the fight, preventing the Dark Jedi from finishing off the King. Ventress realized that she had lost the advantage and was now outmatched, faced by Kyidyin, Hatoth, and several of the King's bodyguards who had followed him inside, and she chose to leap out of the window and escape her now multiplied adversaries.

"Should I pursue her?" Asked Kyidyin.

"No," said Hatoth, "She knows that she has met her match in you and will likely flee the battle. That is one of the things that sets the Jedi apart from the Sith. The Sith are cowards, the Jedi are not."

"How badly did she injure you?"

"It is not life threatening, though I'm afraid it will prevent me from participating in the larger battle around us."

"Thank you for coming back to aid me. It was foolish…but noble"

"Foolish? Perhaps, though I am sure that once she had finished with you, that Sith witch would have come for me. So, in essence, I saved my own life here, as well as that of a friend."

"I am honored that you already count me as a friend, Your Majesty."

"The honor is all mine, Master Jedi."

"Now, I must discover the status of the battle that I have been absent from for this long while." Kyidyin patched Cinigan into his comm, "Cinigan, what is the state of the battle?"

"_Master! What happened with Ventress? You haven't been in contact for so long, I didn't know what to think!_"

"Ventress has been defeated, though she escaped, but I must know what is going on out there."

"_We were able to hold position in most areas and the destruction has so far been mostly restricted to this portion of the city and the droids are beginning to retreat now, though I'm not sure why_."

"Once Ventress returned to the Separatist lines, she must have ordered a retreat. She failed in her mission to kill King Hatoth and turn Iridonia against us and she may also have been worried that I would pursue her, in which case, she chose to abandon the surface."

The Separatists soon fled the planet, though both the King and the Jedi were certain that they were rebuilding their forces for a renewed attack and continued to fortify the capital and other major cities to prepare for the imminent attack. Kyidyin also had to report to the Jedi Council, who had not heard from him since the Republic began its assault on the Iridonian capital.

"I have good news," He said once he was called on to give a report, "After a fairly short siege, we managed to capture the Iridonian capital and I have persuaded King Hatoth to rejoin the Republic. The Separatist army arrived shortly after we had secured the city and fought us for it, though we managed to repel them. During the fight, Hapond Usera was killed by Asajj Ventress, who I was later forced to fight, though I did come out victorious with the aid of King Hatoth. So far we have not had any more Separatist interference, though I suspect they will launch another attack soon.

"Between both of the battles, I lost a large amount of my troops, perhaps a third, the casualties have not been counted yet, and I will need more to continue a stable defence of Iridonia, especially if the battle becomes planetwide. In addition, both my fleet, and that of the Zabraks, were heavily damaged and will need replacements if we are to have any hope of preventing a Separatist landing."

"_Good work securing the support of the Zabraks," _Congratulated Master Windu,"_we will reinforce you as soon as we are able._"

"Thank you, masters," said Kyidyin, "Now I must return to my men, Muchian out."

Kyidyin would stay another four months on Iridonia to protect the planet from the Separatists. It was attacked twice more by the droid army, but the Republic and Iridonian forces were victorious both times. Cinigan and Terev were moved to defend other major cities soon after the first Separatist attack, while Kyidyin remained at the capital.

During his time on Iridonia, Kyidyin found himself a part of a growing friendship with King Hatoth, far more than simply as fellow generals. They often found time to debate over various political and moral ideas, a skill that they each had proficient skill in. Kyidyin also found that, rather than causing him to question Jedi principals, this habit ended up bolstering Kyidyin's faith in them.

He also busied himself by studying the Zabrak culture and history, which he had a basic knowledge of from his early Jedi training, which allowed him to better relate with the community at large and feel more comfortable in his knowledge of them. His knowledge became so extensive and his views appreciated enough that Hatoth awarded him an honorary seat on the Zabrak Council for his time on their planet, which allowed him to participate in the discussion and advise the Council on certain matters if he felt it to be necessary.

Kyidyin soon began to appreciate the beauty of the Zabrak cities, after spending great amounts of time in them and learning their histories and the inspiration behind certain features. The Tandoun itself was thousands of years old and, while it had been renovated several times, the Zabraks endeavored to preserve its original appearance as best as they could while still allowing it to be functional. By the end of his stay there, Kyidyin was easily able to recognize which buildings of the capital were from an older period and which were more modern and he could tell the original areas of the city from those which had been more recently added.

Eventually the Council deemed the region secure enough for Kyidyin and his troops, excepting a sizeable garrison that would remain, led by the masterless Terev Natron, to return to Coruscant. Kyidyin bade farewell to King Hatoth, telling him that he could ask for an opinion on any matter and the king said likewise. Kyidyin had grown to enjoy his life on Iridonia, but he knew he must return to the larger war.

**A/N: Here it is, more is coming soon.**

**How was the duel? I'm pretty bad at fight scenes so going in depth on the other stuff like Kyidyin's perceptions and analysis of the fighting has allowed me to add length to the duels while making them somewhat interesting.**


	9. Part 1, Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 (The Troubles of Authority)**

Several months after leaving Iridonia, Kyidyin and the rest of the Jedi Council received a report from Plo Koon, who had last been sent on an assignment to the Aphonia System where he was investigating reports of Darth Nihalis, the pirate whose men had killed Even Piell on Telmaros, having built a mine there to search for Riconium Ore, a strong metal that resisted electricity and could prove useful as a building material for his fleet. Master Koon had been sent to learn of Nihalis's actions there and see if it was worth sending an attack party to deal with.

"_I am sorry that I have been absent recently but I just returned from the surface of Aphonia III and have indeed discovered a Riconium Mine there. It seems that Nihalis has sent his apprentice, Miikan, to oversee the collection of the ore and to test its potential as a defensive material. They have also built a testing facility on one of the moons but I have not yet discovered its location. I believe that this is worth taking action but my troops alone will not be enough to drive them from the system. I have made brief contact with the Prime Minister on Aphonia I but have so far gained no support._"

"_I have some men in that area,"_ said Master Billaba_, "I could send them to supplement Master Koon's forces."_

_"_As long as we do not weaken our forces in the area this is a threat that we should take action against before it becomes worse." Advised Master Rancisis.

"Even with Depa's forces to aid them, I fear Plo's army may not be strong enough to secure such an important facility." Worried Master Windu.

"If we send more soldiers there and are able to secure the entire region then it would be worthwhile" Said Teuch.

"I have forces available," said Kyidyin, "you don't need me here right now with Adi back from Corellia and my men need an assignment."

"That works," agreed Master Rancisis, "With Kyidyin's and Depa's forces combined we would have enough troops to secure the rest of the sector once the Dokoorites on Aphonia are dealt with."

"Agreed," said Master Windu, "Master Muchian, you can leave as soon as troops are ready."

"_We can begin planning when Kyidyin arrives_" finalized Master Billaba.

Kyidyin left the Council Chamber, called Cinigan, and told him that they were leaving. Cinigan, as always, was happy to be on a mission and lost no time in getting to the Assault Ship that was to carry them to Aphonia. Before leaving Coruscant, Kyidyin was informed that he had been assigned a Clone Commander who would follow orders and serve as a go-between to the Jedi and the normal clones. Kyidyin was not entirely pleased with this new development or with his new commander's superior attitude but he supposed that having another high ranking officer would alleviate some of Cinigan's duties during battle. After they had left and Kyidyin made sure everything was well underway he went to visit Cinigan in his quarters.

"Did you hear about the new Clone Commander that i got?" asked Kyidyin, trying to make conversation.

"Oh yeah, you don't seem too happy about it." observed his padawan.

"Not particularly."

"What's his name?"

"What?"

"I thought Clone Commanders all got names."

"Not that I know of, where did you hear that from?"

"Barriss told me about it, said that Luminara-"

"Master Unduli."

"Yeah her, she calls hers Gree, don't know where it came from."

"So you're saying i should give mine a name."

"You make it sound like their droids or something, clones are people, you know. But anyway, you're not going to want to call out for Commander CT so and so during a battle, would you? Much easier to use a short name, like Gree."

"Alright, I'll leave that up to you, then. And since when were you such good friends with Padawan Offee?"

"We're not, really. Just catching up and stuff. Going through something like the Battle of Geonosis, it makes connections between people."

"Okay, just don't get too interested in her, if you know what I mean." The last thing Kyidyin wanted was to give his teenage padawan a speech on the Jedi rules against romance. He remembered getting that talk from his master at Cinigan's age, it was dreadful. Luckily, Master Haronda had given that talk to plenty of other padawans and it was much less awkward than it could have been. He had fortunately never had to give his first padawan, Sta Atato, the love talk so this was his first time, thankfully, Cinigan just said, "Yes, Master." in an exasperated tone and left it at that. Kyidyin exited his padawan's room before the topic could be brought up again. He knew he'd have to sit down and talk about it with Cinigan at some point but he wasn't ready yet. This had given him a good enough warning that it was probably coming soon.

Upon arrival to the Aphonia system, Kyidyin met with Depa and Plo on the latter's flagship to discuss their plans.

"I have narrowed the main facility's location down to Aphonia II," informed Master Koon, "it is a large moon with a small population but diverse terrain and many places to hide. It will take a while to locate Miikan's base there."

"Kyidyin," said Depa, "you and I will go down to Aphonia II and look for Miikan's base, once we locate it and begin our attack Plo will move in to the mines on Aphonia III and secure them. After that we can gain the support of the government on Aphonia I and leave this system."

Kyidyin, Depa, Cinigan, Depa's padawan, Marel Serun, and a Jedi Knight named Nomas Carter along with a battalion of Clone Troopers, went down to the planet while several more battalions waited with the fleet to land once Miikan's main base had been discovered. Cinigan was disappointed that he would not be with Azarp but Plo had wanted Azarp to stay with him and Kyidyin wanted to keep an eye on Cinigan so the two padawans were separated.

"I'll make contact with the people here and see if they know anything of Miikan's base on this planet" Said Depa.

"Then I'll begin the search," said Kyidyin

"May the Force be with your efforts, Master Muchian."

"And with yours, Master Billaba."

Kyidyin and Depa had decided to trade padawans for their early assignments so Cinigan would go with her in her efforts to gain information from the locals while Depa's padawan, Marel, would go with Kyidyin and Nomas on the investigation. Kyidyin quickly went to inform Cinigan that he would be going with Depa

"Cinigan, Depa and I are going to be taking each other's apprentice on these assignments so you are going to be with her. I don't know how she is with padawans to try to be respectful and learn what you can from her. You will be on a diplomatic mission to the indigenous people, you won't need to say anything there, just listen and learn. And, also, make sure you refer to Depa as "master",I know this is difficult for you, part of that is my fault because i don't enforce it well, but make sure you are respectful."

"You worry too much."

"No, I just don't want members of the Council to have a bad impression of me because my padawan was misbehaving."

"Misbehaving, pssh."

"Enough of that, go find Master Billaba, I have work to do."

Kyidyin soon gathered his recon teams together and gave them a quick briefing, "Some of you can take those All-Recon-Terrain whatever they're called vehicles-"

"All-Terrain-Recon-Transports" interjected Commander Jek.

"Yes, those contraptions and scout out. Try to keep a low profile. If there is a base here, then they will probably be aware of our presence but the less they know the better. The recon teams will be divide into three command groups, I will lead one, General Carter another, and Commander Serun another. They will oversee your efforts and report regularly to the command center here where I will have people set up to receive your transmissions, any questions?"

"Sir," said Jek, "you didn't Assign me to lead a group, that is what I'm here for."

"I am completely aware of that, anything else."

"But Sir,"

"What is it now, commander?"

"I was specifically trained for command jobs, you Jedi weren't."

"Yes, but I am quite confident in the abilities of my team leaders."

"With all due respect, Sir-"

"That is enough, commander. Does anybody else have something to say...good, then be on your way, I will be out in a moment."

So that didn't go quite as smoothly as it could have, it wasn't a good start with this new commander but Kyidyin needed to remain confident in his choices. He was the highest ranking officer present and Commander Jek needed to bow to his judgment. He hoped that he would be able to work better with the clone commander in the future. Only time would tell.

Kyidyin and his team searched on Barc Speeders for about an hour but eventually Kyidyin decided to stop. He kept receiving calls from the rest of his team and it was hindering his ability to concentrate on the task at hand.

"Lieutenant Galley," he said after they stopped at a small village, "Take my comm and receive calls from the others here. Don't call me unless it is something major, you have my consent to order them about as you see fit."

"Yes, General Muchian."

Lieutenant Galley. Kyidyin had to wonder where his padawan had gotten all these names from. Commander Jek was one thing but after that, Cinigan had went around giving names to all of the officers in their regiment. Part of this determination had to do with an unspoken argument going on between Kyidyin and Cinigan. Cinigan was convinced that each of the clones was a complete individual while Kyidyin had stated that they were all copies of the same man, which limited the diversity between them. Kyidyin supposed that the naming was just one way that Cinigan could show him that the clones were all completely different people

Kyidyin supposed that his reasoning for favoring placing Jedi in command positions over clones stemmed somewhat from this. The clones all relied on the combat training they had received on Kamino while Jedi learned from experience and the experience of their masters. The Jedi were all very individualistic and each functioned in the way that worked best for him or her while the clones all worked the same way, the way that they had been taught. The Jedi were trained logical thinking and taking each situation in context while the clones were only beginning to learn that war wasn't the same as training. Most Jedi had been out on the field to some extent for years while the clones had barely been fighting for six months. This was why Kyidyin tended to favor Jedi.

Later in the afternoon, Kyidyin received a call from Marel Serun.

"_Master Muchian, I tried calling you before but it went to one of your officers._"

"Sorry about that, I was receiving too many transmissions from some of the other groups on the search, what's wrong."

"_Nothing, quite. But some of my men have had encounters with a native people that have reacted with hostility towards us, there have been casualties, do think I should call my master to see if she can find anything out about them._"

"She is probably still in conversation with the leaders of the people here and I don't think you should disturb her. Tell your men to keep an eye out, try to avoid them if you can and if they continue causing trouble then leave the area where they've been spotted and return to headquarters. We will be finishing up for the night in an hour or so anyways."

"_Thank you, Master Muchian._"

"That's alright, call me if there is anything else you're unsure about."

Kyidyin was about to call everyone to return to HQ when he received a call from Depa.

"_Kyidyin,_" Her voice shook slightly, which surprised him, "_Have you heard from my padawan lately."_

_"_About an hour ago, she was concerned about some hostile natives, why, what's wrong?" though Kyidyin was getting an ominous feeling.

"_I can't tell for sure but I've been getting these feelings...like something is wrong with her and reach I reach out to her in the Force...she's not there._"

"I'll get an investigation out right away."

He cut off communication with Depa and contacted Jedi Carter

"Nomas, I believe Padawan Serun may have been apprehended or killed by a native people in her area. Cease searching for Miikan's base and go look for her, I will be there as soon as I can."

"_Yes, Master Muchian, are her men aware_?"

"I don't think so, contact them and see what they know and inform them of what I've told you. Hopefully this won't take long, night will be falling soon."

Kyidyin wondered what an impression it would make if Depa's padawan died the first day she was assigned to him. He didn't know Depa well enough to know if she would blame him in any way if Marel was killed. He doubted that she would but he still worried.

When he reached Nomas's men they had found Marel. She was hanging from a tree.

**A/N: I forgot to mention it until now but all the italics in quotes are being spoken by someone using a communicator or present via hologram. Any italics that are not in quotes are Jedi Telepathy (hasn't been used yet, may be seen in the next chapter)**


End file.
